Association between Serum Vitamin D and Body Mass Index and Fat Mass in a Group of Community Dwellers.

Abstract

Vitamin D insufficiency is linked with obesity which leads to many health problems including Type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, and cancer. However, there are no studies examining the relationship between vitamin D and body fat among Sri Lankans. The objective of this study was to determine the association between Body Mass Index (BM!), Total Body Fat mass (TBF), Truncal Fat mass (TRF) with serum vitamin D (VD) in a group of community dwellers. A group of 32 age-matched men was selected as community controls of an ongoing study and were included in the analysis after obtaining informed written consent. Height and weight were measured following standard protocols and BM! was calculated. TBF, Total Body Fat percentage (TBFP) and TRF were measured using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. VD concentration was estimated by ELISA technique. Mean (SD) age of the group was 49 (8) years, with a mean (SD) height of 1.64(0.08) m and a weight of 62.3(12.7) kg. Mean VD concentration was 28.9 ng/mL. Serum vitamin D concentration showed a significant negative correlations with the total body weight (r = -0.41, p = 0.017), BM! (r = -0.40, p = 0.018), TBF (r = -0.48, p = 0.004), TBFP (r =-0.46, p = 0.006) and TRF (r =-0.44, p = 0.009) respectively. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that TBF has the strongest association with serum VD. As confirmed in previous studies, the results indicated that people with high TBF were likely to have insufficient levels of vitamin D. It is interesting to find out whether interventions aiming to reduce body fat content reverse this association.